How to choose a good Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans can be a great addition to any home or room. Ceiling fans can provide a room with comfortable air movement, appropriate lighting, and a decorative touch. Choosing the proper ceiling fan or fans for your home is an important decision. This guide will help you understand the way ceiling fans work and the different styles and options available.

ADVANTAGES OF CEILING FANS

The primary purpose for a ceiling fan is to provide ventilation and improved air circulation throughout a room. Proper air circulation is beneficial because it can improve the effectiveness of your home cooling system during warm weather.
For cooling purposes, the breeze created by the ceiling fan will bring the cool air to you.

TYPES OF CEILING FANS

Traditional Hanging Propeller Ceiling Fans

The traditional hanging propeller ceiling fan is what people normally think of as a ceiling fan. The fan hangs perpendicular from the ceiling and the blade rotation is parallel to the floor.

There are many such ceiling fans in various finishes, blade designs, blade quantities and lighting fixture options to fit into home décor, room size, and room function as needed. The basic traditional ceiling fans are typically the least expensive of all three ceiling fan styles and are most common in India.

Directional Ceiling Fans

Like the traditional propeller ceiling fans, directional ceiling fans hang from the ceiling. The difference between these ceiling fans is that directional fans have the capability of being manipulated to hang at a particular angle to better ventilate a particular area rather than an entire room. These fans are desirable when only one area of a room requires additional ventilation and no additional lighting.

Rotational Ceiling Fan

A rotational ceiling fan is a combination of the first two styles of ceiling fans: traditional propeller ceiling fan and directional ceiling fan. Rotational ceiling fans are normally provided with one or two sets of propellers that rotate independently.

Each set of propellers is provided with its own motor which makes a complete fan. The rotational fan in the photo above is provided with two sets of propellers (or fans). The fans are attached to a horizontal support rod which rotates on a vertical axis. As the propellers turn, the horizontal support rod turns. The position of each fan motor housing can be adjusted to increase or decrease its angle to the horizontal support rod. The entire unit is designed so that horizontal support rod will turn faster as the fan motor angle is increased. Ultimately, the axial rotation speed about the vertical support bar is dependant upon the fan motor speed and the fan motor angle to the horizontal support rod.

Rotational ceiling fans are claimed to circulate air more efficiently for heating and cooling purposes than the traditional propeller ceiling fans. Rotational ceiling fans also tend to be more expensive than traditional propeller ceiling fans.

FAN SIZE

You should select a fan based on size of the room. Fan size is measured by taking width straight across from one blade tip to the other blade tip. A fan larger than necessary is fine till it can rotate properly. A fan smaller than needed does not effectively circulate air.
For large rooms, you can consider more than one fan if needed.

Fan Size (in mm)

Room Size (in sq metres)

900

<7

1050

7 - 10

1200

10 - 12

1400

12 - 14

>1400

1500 mm or Use 2 or more fans

CEILING FAN BLADES

Sealed blades prevent warping and also fans with larger blades circulate more air.

CEILING FAN MOTORS

Motors are measured in watts and indicate how powerful the motor is. The speed of the motor can defines how the fan operates, the noise it makes and energy it uses.
Quiet fans tend to cost more. The motor power defines air circulation and thus the amount of cooling from the fan.

CEILING FAN ENERGY TIPS

Step type switches instead of knob type fan regulator can save power. The old box type regulator only regulates the fan speed but the fan consumes full power at all speeds.